Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - UNREAL: New England Patriots March to the AFC Championship Game, Win 28-16

Starting point is 00:00:01 The magical run continues for the paths as they take care of business against the Texans and sit one win away from the Super Bowl. This is Locked-on Patriots. You are Locked-on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. I just keep saying this. Can you believe it? Can you believe that the Patriots are making this run? heading to the AFC championship game, one win away from the Super Bowl. Unbelievable. What's happening?

Starting point is 00:00:43 I am Nick Cattels, your host, born and raised in New England, been covering the past the past 16 years. Also, the co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattels and a sports radio veteran. Welcome to Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. on today's post-game. In the third segment, we'll discuss the defense elevating its play for the second straight playoff game. In the second segment, Drake May had an up and down day but came through with big plays

Starting point is 00:01:12 when the Pat's offense needed them. But first, the Patriots are 60 minutes away from a Super Bowl appearance. Today's episode is brought to by Fandul. Fandul is officially in playoff mode. Every game day during the NFL playoffs, Fandul is giving customers even more ways to get in on the action. visit fandul.com to get started. This really is unbelievable. Not in my wildest dreams that I think the Patriots would be going to the

Starting point is 00:01:40 AFC championship game this year. I predicted before this season kicked off that the Patriots would win nine games. I said a perfect season. If everything fell perfectly for this football team, they had a chance of winning 11 games. What they are doing right now is Banana Land. from 4 and 13 last season to the AFC championship game this season. No more schedule talk. I tweeted just a little while ago at Nixie Radio. You know, it's unfortunate that this run doesn't count since the Patriots had such a weak schedule, right? It really is a shame.

Starting point is 00:02:18 It's a bummer. It's a bummer that this doesn't count. Forget the schedule talk. Enough is enough. Everybody on ESPN that has not played for the Patriots in their past can pick the Houston Texans. Everybody could talk about the Houston Texans defense. Everybody could talk about D'emico Ryan's. Everybody could talk about the Patriots schedule not being strong enough and, oh, who have they really beaten and all this other. It doesn't matter. None of it matters.

Starting point is 00:02:47 Zero complaints about this football season. 28 to 16, the Patriots discard the Houston Texans. They take care of their business. And one of my favorite parts, of this football game was the end of this football game. What we saw was a statement from the Patriots offense. What we saw was a statement from their offensive line. And that statement was, we're going to run the football down your throats. We are going to soak this clock in the fourth quarter and you can't do anything about it. We're telling you we're running the football.

Starting point is 00:03:22 We're constantly in eye formation. And we're just going to run the football down your throat over and over and over and over again. An absolutely gigantic swing in the fourth quarter when the Patriots went from inside their own five-yard line. Great punt. A 69-yard punt. The Patriots start from there inside their own five-yard line. And their offense goes, first and ten, I-Formation, Stevenson, Ramadre-Stevenson, eight yards. Second and two, I-formation, Ramadre-Stevenson, five yards. First and ten, six offensive linemen. I-formation. Remodre-Stevenson, nine yards. Second and one, under center.

Starting point is 00:04:01 Ramandre Stevenson, three yards. First and 10, full back, offset. Trayvion Henderson, six yards. Second and four, under center, eye formation. Trayvionand Henderson, three-yard loss. But then you have a third and seven shotgun formation. Stefan Diggs gets a 14-yard reception, move the chains. You ran the football two more times.

Starting point is 00:04:24 I mean, just unbelievable. The Patriots wasted six. six minutes of clock time. So from inside their own five-yard line, there was about what, 10 minutes, 11 minutes left in this football game. And the Patriots just ran it and ran it and ran it and ran it and ran it. And the Texans could not do anything about it.

Starting point is 00:04:46 That is a huge drive. The Patriots did not get any points from that drive, but they swung the field position and they soaked six minutes of gain time with that dry. And then they followed that up. I don't know why D'Amico Ryans punted the football with one timeout in four minutes left, but he decided to punt the football. Patriots go out there again.

Starting point is 00:05:07 Ramandre Stevenson, nine yards. Ramadre Stevenson, two yards. Move the chains. Take more of that clock away from the Houston Texans. That's statement type stuff. And I don't know why the Patriots decided to throw the football on third and ten. That was pretty aggressive. Didn't like it.

Starting point is 00:05:25 But man, oh man, what a statement at the end of this game. What a statement in that fourth quarter. by this offensive line against that defensive line, telling them, we're going to win this football game. This thing is over. And we're going to do it by being physical. We're going to punch you in the face over and over and over again. I loved it.

Starting point is 00:05:45 And Joe Buck and Troy Eichman said this during the game. You know Mike Vrable loved that. You know Mike Vrable loved that drive from inside your own five-yard line. And you just kept running it and running it and running it. Shout out to the defense. The defense put pressure on C.J. Stroud all day long. They blitzed and got pressure. They actually got some pressure with the four-man pass rush, which is pretty amazing.

Starting point is 00:06:10 We have not seen that consistently, but they did get some pressure with four-man pass rush. And they ended the game for all intents and purposes with a Kyrie's Tonga, Anthony Jennings game up front. Tonga gets the sack. So Kyrie's Tonga really put an end to the football game, with that sack, which led to Domingo Ryan's, for whatever reason, punting the football away. But that defense was hunting all day long.

Starting point is 00:06:36 That defense was attacking all day long. That defense made life miserable for C.J. Stroud in the Texans offense. And this was a game of turnovers. C.J. Stroud had four interceptions. Woody Marks had a fumble. It felt like Drake May fumbled the ball 15 times. I mean, this was a chaotic game with a ton of turnovers. It wasn't a work of art by any stretch of the imagination, but who cares?

Starting point is 00:07:04 I mean, the Texans defense did a really good job of standing up after turnovers. The Patriots didn't score many points. They scored what? It's like seven points off of Texans' turnovers, and that was the pick six. So I thought the Texans defense did a really good job with the sudden change. And that Texans defense is 100% unequivocally legitimate. That is a really, really talented defense. And we talked about it leading into the game, a really talented defense.

Starting point is 00:07:30 But the Patriots, they did enough. They did just enough. And now the Patriots are one win away from the Super Bowl. They have won 15 of their last 16 games. They are the hottest team in football. They just beat the hottest team in football. The Texans had won 10 straight games. The Patriots put an end to that.

Starting point is 00:07:53 And they are on their way to Denver next weekend for the A.S. F. Championship game. Absolutely freaking surreal watching this run in 2025 and now early 2026. All right. Drake May was far from perfect, but the flashes of his top tier talent was enough on this Sunday. That's next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey guys, the draft order is set and so many teams are looking for their franchise QB. Ever wish to become a pro quarterback? Getting drafted by the paths? Well, now you can.

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Starting point is 00:10:52 YouTube, helps us with the algorithm. I want your comments. How you feeling? Michael Skinner jumps in and says, once again, it's on. No one saw this one coming. house money all the way. This is a special season no matter what happens. Drake May is the real deal. What a day. Great job, Nick. Thank you, Michael. Appreciate the message. Josh Fontaine jumps in. Just got my tickets for Denver. Let's go, Pat's. So how about that? How about going to going to Denver? That's pretty nice. So don't forget to like. Don't forget to throw your comments in. Helps us with the algorithm. And don't forget to subscribe as well. We are inching closer to our goal of 8,500 subscribers.

Starting point is 00:11:32 Can we possibly do it by the AFC championship game? I think we can. The lockdown Patriots community is awesome. We are proving to the rest of the lockdown world that we don't mess around here at lockdown Patriots. I appreciate every single one of you. This was the toughest test for Drake May. And we talked about it all week long last weekend.

Starting point is 00:11:54 Last week throughout, we talked about how difficult of a challenge that this was going to. be. The Houston Texans defense is arguably the best defense in football. The Seattle Seahawks would argue that if they're not better than the Seahawks, they're just about what Seattle is. And that defense today, as you saw it, with all the turnovers from their quarterback, they found a way. They found a way to stay in this game because that defense is so darn good. This was the toughest test for Drake May. no doubt about it.

Starting point is 00:12:30 He turned the football over again. The interception doesn't count to me. That was a Hail Mary at the end of the half. That is what it is. But the fumbling issues are legitimate. And he fumbled the football numerous times today. And I thought he was inaccurate to start early. But, but, but, but, but, but, but, the big plays, man.

Starting point is 00:12:51 The big plays from Drake May. And I've talked about this from the very beginning regarding Drake May. he's going to make mistakes. He will turn the football over every once in a while, but then he has those top-tier elite plays. And you've got to take the bad with the very, very good. And Drake May again made a couple of big plays against the Texans defense that helped you win this football game.

Starting point is 00:13:18 The fourth and one touchdown to Pop Douglas on the slant route. Great throw, perfect timing. Pop Douglas showed great hands. gloves, by the way, in the weather for DeMario Douglas. Touchdown on fourth and one, big play. How about Mike Vrable, staying aggressive, going forward on fourth and one. The head coach has been aggressive all year long. We know this team's identity.

Starting point is 00:13:41 They are going to be aggressive on fourth down. Going forward on fourth and one, knowing you're going against this defense, if you can score a touchdown, it was going to mean so much instead of just kicking that field goal. Going forward on fourth and one, your quarterback and pop Douglas made you look like. a genius. Then you had the throw and catch to Stefan Diggs. I mean, you want to talk about a laser beam that was an absolute dime. I have no idea. I have no idea how Drake May fit that football in that window. And I have even less of an idea how in the world Stefan Diggs caught that football.

Starting point is 00:14:17 But that throw and catch was tremendous from Drake May to Stefan Diggs for the second touchdown of the day. And then you had the outrageous. The bucket. throw downfield to Kishon Booty. Kishon Booty with just an amazing catch. A one-handed, one-armed catch survived, quote-unquote, the ground. Just an unbelievable catch from Kishan Booty. But also, that's a really nice throw. That's a bucket throw from your quarterback.

Starting point is 00:14:47 That's a dime when you need the dime to be thrown. So we can talk about the turnovers, and we should talk about the turnovers. and, you know, if you turn the football over multiple times, most of the time, you're going to lose in the postseason when you do that. Now, fortunately, C.J. Stroud turned it over four times. Fortunately, Woody Marks fumbled the ball. So you had five turnovers from the Texans today that obviously helped out that even things up. But Drake May made those big plays, man.

Starting point is 00:15:18 The fourth and one to pop, the digs touchdown, the booty touchdown. I mean, that catch was just outrageously awesome. And to me, the key about Drake May in this game was the fact that he did not fall off a cliff. Against this defense, he obviously was not having his best day. Again, some early inaccuracy. He fumbled the football a couple times. But he continued to fight. And because of his confidence, because of his belief in himself,

Starting point is 00:15:49 and not allowing himself to fall off that cliff. he's able to make those plays. He's able to step up and make those plays. And that says a lot at 23 years old, the ability to come back, the ability to come back from the not so great and being able to find a way to come up with big play after big play when you absolutely need it.

Starting point is 00:16:13 That says a lot about Drake May. And that is maturity, that is mental toughness, and you saw that from the quarterback. You also saw a run game. And it felt like as we got ready for this game today, the team that was able to run the football better was the team that was likely going to win the game. Because, you know, the defense of Houston,

Starting point is 00:16:38 if you have to be one dimensional against this defense, you're going to have a lot of trouble. And the Patriots, yes, some of it came late, as we talked about in the fourth quarter, but those were the biggest drives. and the Patriots ran for 105 yards today. The Texans ran for only 48 yards. This run defense, this run defense with Milton Williams back and Robert Spillane back,

Starting point is 00:17:03 this run defense looks like the run defense we saw the first couple of months when running backs could not crack 50 yards. Woody Marks had no chance on God's Green Earth today running the football. The Patriots ran the ball more effectively than the Texans. that was a significant part of this football game. Everything was on C.J. Stroud, and C.J. Stroud was not comfortable. C.J. Stroud was rattled. He was rattled last week against Pittsburgh. He was rattled today against the Patriots. And you put it all on his shoulders. The Texans could not run the football.

Starting point is 00:17:37 And you said, hey, C.J. Stroud is going to have to beat us. He's going to have to consistently make throws. The time of possession went your way, 32 minutes to 28 minutes. Kishon Booty. How about the impact of Kishan Booty? What a story. What a story. Three catches, 75 yards in a touchdown. He had a couple of catches on the drive that eventually led to the Stefan Diggs touchdown catch. We talked about a few minutes ago. And then he makes that just terrific catch for the touchdown. Staphan Diggs, four catches, 40 yards. That touchdown catch. He had a huge third and seven conversion in the fourth quarter that we mentioned. in the first segment. You were running the ball, running the ball, running the ball. Then you're looking at third and seven. And Stefan Diggs comes up with a big time catch on third and seven

Starting point is 00:18:27 to convert and move the chains. How many times have we seen that from Stefan Diggs this year? Third down, fourth down, big place. Big place from Stefan Dix. Now in real time, it looked like Will Campbell had some issues in past protection. I will watch the film tomorrow morning, as I always do on Mondays. I want to pay special. attention to what the offensive line looked like playing and play out. I'll look over that all 22 film and we'll talk about it on tomorrow's podcast. We'll have that for you on Tuesday. So, you know, when we look at the film, it'll tell us more.

Starting point is 00:19:06 It was expected that these offensive tackles, especially Will Campbell. It was expected that he was going to struggle against the Houston Texans because the Texans are so good on the edge. I did not like leaving Will Campbell one-on-one on the third down that resulted in, I believe it was a sack of Drake May. I did not like that whatsoever. I don't know why he was on an island, but it is what it is. The Patriots were also stuck a lot in third and long for most of the first three quarters, which is a very, very tough recipe against a defense like Houston's defense. But you did enough.

Starting point is 00:19:41 Drake May made enough big-time plays, made enough. made enough big time throws. Your offense ran the ball enough. You soaked the clock in the fourth quarter and you walked away with the dub. All right, all the talk. All the talk before the game was about the Houston Texans defense. But it was the Pat's defense today that changed this game.

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Starting point is 00:21:11 Again, that is Fandul. And we're talking about profit boost packs. Grab your profit boost pack every NFL playoff game day. Your Patriots are headed to the AFC championship game. next Sunday against the Denver Broncos in Denver against of all people, Jared Stidham. We will obviously be covering the Patriots all week long here at lockdown Patriots. We will have that crossover episode for you coming up on Thursday. We'll have the deep dive preview of the AFC championship game on Friday.

Starting point is 00:21:43 Can't wait. Can't wait to get to that. But of course, we got more to talk about regarding Texans Patriots today. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe, help a brother out, help a podcast. out. The defense for the second straight week in the playoffs elevated its play. And we all talked about the Houston defense because the Houston defense, as I said at the beginning of this podcast, is one of the best defenses. And you could argue the best defense in football this year. And so there was all that conversation about the Houston Texans defense. I watched the ESPN pregame for

Starting point is 00:22:18 the picks. And you went to Ryan Clark and you went to Marcus Spears. And they were all picking the Texans. Scott Van Pelt, picked the Patriots. Shout out to Scott Van Pelt. But all this talk about the Texans defense. And look, again, rightfully so, because they're really good at playing football. But after all that talk all week long, and Mike Vrable apparently challenged his defense throughout practice this week. And the players talked about it after the game today where, you know, Mike Vrable went to him and said, everybody's hyping up this Texans defense. What about our defense? What about us? What are we going to do about that on Sunday?

Starting point is 00:22:57 And they answered the bell. Patriots defense created five turnovers, one, two, three, four, fifth. They had a pick six from Marcus Jones. Excellent play by Marcus Jones. I thought the defensive backs were mostly excellent. Christian Gonzalez was really good from what I saw. Again, in real time, we'll see what the film says. But Christian Gonzalez looked like he played really well today again for the second

Starting point is 00:23:19 straight time of the playoffs. Carlton Davis coming up with big interceptions. Craig Woodson, I thought. Craig Woodson, your rookie safety, was on the scene for a number of past breakups. I thought Craig Woodson looked like he had a really good football game in real time. And again, that Milton Williams, Robert Spillane, those two guys coming back to this defense,

Starting point is 00:23:41 has strengthened the middle of your defense so much compared to what it looked like a month ago, a month plus ago. Woody Marks averaged 1.2 yards per carry today. Houston could not run the football. The Texans offense averaged 3.3 yards per play. I mean, just tremendous stuff from the Patriots defense. Flying to the football.

Starting point is 00:24:06 The pass breakups, the turnovers, they had three sacks, a ton of pressure. I don't know what the pressure numbers will tell us, but C.J. Stroud was under pressure for a lot of this football game. mostly disciplined. Carlton Davis actually had all three penalties for the Patriots. He had all three of the penalties for the Pats today. But you played mostly disciplined football.

Starting point is 00:24:31 You played very aggressive. You played very physical. And I mean, this defense for two straight weeks has really won you a couple of playoff games. Against the charges was one thing. against that charges offensive line. And Texans' offensive line isn't very good. We talked about it before the game, right?

Starting point is 00:24:51 This Texans offensive line isn't spectacular. But man, the Patriots defense, they got after it today. The biggest issues for the Patriots defense was third down early on, right, the first quarter and a half or so of this game. The Texans were four for seven on third down. So the Patriots had some trouble getting off the field early. They settled late. And they got better getting off the field as the game went

Starting point is 00:25:16 along. But you know, you could look at the third down issues early in the game, but you can also look at the turnovers and say, yeah, you weren't getting them off the field, but you were creating turnovers and you're getting the football back to Drake May. I did think there were some issues when you look at some second and long plays. Houston got some chunk plays on second and long in the second quarter, the Texans eighth drive offensively because they had all the turnovers. Second and 15, you had the C.J. Shroud deep shot to Christian Curry. the DPI on Davis.

Starting point is 00:25:48 Second and 14, the Patriots send a blitz. And C.J. Stroud hits Jaden Higgins for 16 yards. Now, fortunately, that drive ends with the Carlton Davis interception. So again, you gave up some plays, but you got it right back by forcing those turnovers and by being so good against the run and putting this game completely on C.J. Stroud. And it did not look like C.J. Stroud wanted anything to do with this game. He just looked uncomfortable.

Starting point is 00:26:17 The only touchdown, it's kind of crazy, but the only touchdown the Patriots defense gave up today was on a 27-yard drive, a 27-yard drive after Drake Mays fumble. That's the only touchdown this defense gave up today. I mean, some really good stuff from that side of the football. And when you have that type of defense, the defense the Patriots have played, the first two playoff games,

Starting point is 00:26:43 when you have that kind of defense and you've got your quarterback who might not be consistently playing great, but when you have your quarterback and that quarterback has the ability to have three, four, five elite plays, that's good enough to go on a run. And the Patriots are officially on a run going to the AFC championship game. If they can continue to play this type of defense and get some of those high-level plays from their quarterback, there's no stopping. There's no stopping them. If they can actually do that,

Starting point is 00:27:18 if they can actually do that. Calm down, zombies. Matt Collins, back next week. We'll see. He is eligible to be back next week. It's an abdominal injury,

Starting point is 00:27:28 so we don't really know how bad it is. We'll see if he's able to get back. But he is, he's allowed to come back. So if he's feeling good, if he's feeling good, then, you know, he will be available.

Starting point is 00:27:43 Barry, 79, 20. Yes, Diggs, William Spillane, Moses, all big wins. Yeah, that free agency, man, that free agency of this past off season, unbelievable. Teresa, our friend, Terry jumps in, says, what a game. Some Ballam says Milton Williams was an amazing free agent signing. He's been worth every single solitary penny that they paid him. Milton Williams has been excellent. Milton Williams caused a turnover today by getting push at the line of scrimmage, pushed Ariante Ursary back, and, you know, fell into the tight end. The tight end fell and it ends up becoming an interception.

Starting point is 00:28:24 You know, Milton Williams has just been awesome. He's been awesome all year long. He is a huge piece of this defense. And he can, he can change games. He can absolutely change games. Unlearn yourself. This season is up there with 2001 already. It has been a magical, magical ride. Absolutely unbelievable run. The Patriots going to the AFC championship game on Sunday, going to Denver. Let's go. I cannot be more excited.

Starting point is 00:28:57 And I cannot thank all of you enough. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listening for being an everydayer. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C Radio. Don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel. hit that like button, give us a thumbs up. And don't forget to subscribe. And if you're looking for a gift for someone, make it easy.

Starting point is 00:29:15 Check out the Everydayer Club. Add free episodes of this show, exclusive Discord, server access, and more. Subscriptions can be gifted through lockdownpatriots. com. Have a great day. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Pat's AFC Championship Game Bound.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - UNREAL: New England Patriots March to the AFC Championship Game, Win 28-16

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